Lee Choong-sung, “I hope Japan will win the final Korea-Japan match.”

Lee Choong-sung (Japanese name Lee Tadanari), who scored the “final goal” in Japan’s last Asian Cup victory, expressed his opinion on the Korean and Japanese national teams for the upcoming Asian Cup. The 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup will kick off on the 13th (Korean time). The Korean national soccer team will face Bahrain on the 15th, Jordan on the 20th, and Malaysia on the 25th in Group E of the Asian Cup.

Korea has never won an Asian Cup title for 64 years since winning the first Asian Games in 1956 and 1960. While claiming to be the “dominant player of Asia,” Korea has always been weak at the Asian Cup. The key is whether Son Heung-min, who claims victory that Cha Bum-keun, Hong Myung-bo and Park Ji-sung failed to win, and the current national team, which is considered the “golden generation,” can pull it off. 토토사이트

According to the calculation made by Opta, Korea’s probability of winning the Asian Cup was 14.3 percent, ranking second among 24 countries in the finals. Japan ranked first with 24.6 percent of the total. It is a fault that star-studded striker Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad, Thigh) and flanker Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton Hove and Albion) joined the national team with injuries, but 20 of the 26 players including captain and midfielder Endo Wataru (Liverpool) and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu (Asnal) are European leagues.

Japan also showed off its tremendous teamwork at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, beating both Germany and Spain, which have won the World Cup, to reach the round of 16 as the top of the group. It is the No. 1 alert target of the Klinsman team in that it showed the title of the most Asian Cup winners (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011) and the best performance at the recent World Cup.

Japan is emerging as one of the strong contenders for the Asian Cup title. Japanese media outlet Sports Hochi released an interview with Lee Choong-sung, who scored the winning goal with his left foot volley against Australia in the final of the 2011 Asian Cup. “The volley has become the symbol of Lee Choong-sung,” Lee said, recalling the time.

Commenting on the Korean national team, Lee said, “There are many players who are good at big clubs such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in, and the way they play is good. I want to support Japan in general and Korea in terms of individual capabilities. I hope the two countries will meet in the final.” Korea and Japan can only meet in the final if they actually advance to the round of 16 as No. 1 in their respective groups.

“I hope the players will create a life-changing play at this year’s event. That play could overshadow my goal (laughs). I hope Japan wins and the striker scores the final goal,” Lee said.